What makes a baseball player exciting? We asked two rising MLB stars

What makes a shot subordinate exciting?

In immoderate ways, this is an unanswerable question, an aesthetic judgement that defies quantification. What makes a subordinate exciting? Who tin say? You cognize it erstwhile you spot it.

The quality is that determination is nary close answer, arsenic ESPN's astir breathtaking MLB subordinate brackets -- last year's debut and the 2025 mentation released Tuesday -- assistance illustrate. Excitement successful shot comes successful galore antithetic forms, and antithetic fans volition beryllium drawn to antithetic traits.

"I conscionable similar seeing guys who tin bash a batch of antithetic things connected the field," said James Wood, the Washington Nationals' typical successful the bracket, who embodies respective communal qualities among our 32 entrants:

• With a 2025 shot property of 22, he's young. The bracket wide skews young, with the mean property (26.4) much than 2 years younger than the MLB mean (28.6).

• We're inactive getting to cognize Wood, who debuted conscionable past season. The median debut play of our 32 entrants is 2022. Three players -- Nick Kurtz, Roman Anthony and Colson Montgomery -- person debuted since this year's Opening Day.

• At 6-foot-7, Wood is gangly for a hitter. That's the aforesaid tallness arsenic Aaron Judge and conscionable 2 inches taller than Elly De La Cruz and Kurtz. The mean tallness successful MLB is 6-1½.

• Wood has a speedy bat that generates hard contact. His plaything velocity (76.1) ranks successful the 95th percentile and his mean exit velocity (94 mph) is successful the 98th percentile, according to Statcast. Collectively, the hitters successful the radical ain an mean plaything velocity (74.9) acold supra the MLB mean (71.6) and make overmuch higher exit velocities (92.2 mph versus the mean of 89.2).

But successful the end, it's not immoderate one of these things that people a subordinate arsenic exciting. It's a operation of skills -- and it looks a small antithetic for each of them. For Wood, it's a uncommon mashup of that height, the grace of movement, the astir laconic assemblage connection that abruptly explodes erstwhile bat meets shot oregon erstwhile helium is chasing down a alert shot successful halfway field.

"Just being capable to deed for powerfulness and tally the bases, play defense, conscionable impact the crippled successful a batch of antithetic ways," Wood said. "I deliberation that's the mode to bring excitement."

For his part, Wood grew up admiring left-handed hitters specified arsenic Curtis Granderson and Robinson Cano, and primitively tried to exemplary his crippled aft Barry Bonds. Wood mightiness besides punctual you of a lefty-hitting Dave Winfield due to the fact that of his physique and the mode his agelong limbs benignant of unfold arsenic helium moves.

"I haven't truly watched a full batch of video connected [Winfield]," said Wood, smiling due to the fact that it's not the archetypal clip helium has heard the examination to the Hall of Famer. "I've gotten that 1 a fewer times, particularly erstwhile I was successful San Diego. I astir apt request to bash a small much homework."

Nearly each of the 28 hitters successful the bracket are superior athletes and tally well, helping them capable the columns of the stat sheet. But you tin besides get determination by being a axenic masher -- Kyle Schwarber can't tally and hardly plays the tract anymore, but with baseball's second-highest hard-hit complaint (behind the rookie Anthony), helium hits the shot truthful hard truthful often that you can't instrumentality your eye...